It is well known that syringes should be safely disposed of after use in order to prevent needle stick injuries, the spread of disease, and the like. It is known to provide a container to dispose of multiple numbers of syringes and examples of such containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,312 (Vumbaca) and Australian Patent No. 741,793 (License Management Pty Ltd).
It is also known to provide a disposal container for an individual syringe and one such container is disclosed in International Application No. WO 01/23019. With reference to the drawings of that published International application, that specification discloses a syringe 38 having a finger engaging flange 38a which has two extremities 38aa. These extremities engage with the inner surfaces 17a of a wall 16 formed around the periphery of the container. Once the flange 38a is pushed past the wall 16 thereby deflecting same slightly, the syringe 38 is retained within the disposal device.
The abovementioned arrangement suffers from a number of disadvantages. The first of these is that the wall 16 is relatively rigid and therefore it can be quite difficult to push the syringe fully home and into the disposal device so as to permanently retain the same within the device. This is particularly the case for the elderly or the infirm. Furthermore, the distance between the flange extremities 38aa and the corresponding walls 16 must be closely matched in order that the necessary degree of deflection takes place. If the flange is too small the syringe will not be retained within the device and if the flange is too bid the syringe cannot be fully pushed into the device. That is to say, the prior art device does not accept a wide range of syringe sizes.
The aim of the present invention is to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, the abovementioned difficulties.